John Salera

John Salera asked for insights into why the previous 'Hain Reimagined' program fell short and what makes the current optimization efforts different, and also inquired about the anticipated cadence of leverage throughout fiscal 2026.

Answer

Interim President and CEO Alison Lewis stated that previous efforts focused on structure and process rather than decisive actions. She highlighted current differences including widespread pricing across the portfolio, a significantly ramped-up innovation pipeline, local empowerment through a regional operating model with two innovation hubs, and continued supply chain productivity. CFO Lee Boyce confirmed that leverage is expected to pick up in Q1 due to free cash flow outflow, with benefits from cost focus and initiatives driving improvement in the second half of the year.

John Salera asked for insights into why the 'Hain Reimagined' program fell short, what makes the current optimization efforts different, and the anticipated cadence of leverage throughout fiscal 2026, including the expected high watermark.

Answer

Interim President and CEO Alison Lewis explained that previous efforts focused on structure over action, while current initiatives emphasize decisive actions like widespread pricing, robust innovation, and empowered regional operating models. CFO Lee Boyce noted that Q1 free cash flow is expected to be an outflow, with leverage potentially picking up in the first half before improving in the second half due to cost focus and inventory management.